Escape from North Korea

A spark of hope ignited

The next morning, like every day, I went to the field where I could admire the wide sea on the horizon. Fishing boats could be seen on the high seas today. Suddenly I had an idea. “Yeah, I did it!” I exclaimed. “What are you screaming about?” asked Grandfather. I paused, realizing that the freedom of my thoughts should not be shared so loudly, at least not here, not now. “I’ll tell you tonight,” I replied, my voice now muffled by the realization that walls have ears and freedom often speaks in whispers.
The sun had long since set and the day's hard work was behind us when I finally confided in Grandpa. “If crossing the land border is not possible, the option remains to use the sea border.”

“I like the way you think, child,” he replied. “But that’s impossible,” he added. I asked sadly, but still with a spark of hope: “Why?” “In order to escape across the sea border, we first need a boat, and we are already failing here,” he explained. “What if we had a boat?” I asked.
“Well, the sea border with South Korea is really strictly monitored. They have ships and planes in constant use to check everything. If anything unusual happens or someone is traveling without permission, it will be exposed immediately. And with all the tension down there, it could quickly happen that a ship that they are not comfortable with comes under fire.”

Now I told him my idea: “We could escape together with a fishing family. They know about currents and know about legal shipping routes. And a fishing boat is not perceived as strange or suspicious. Especially not in South Korea, because the name that a Korean boat has can also appear in South Korea because of the same language." "You are the chosen one, Tam," he spoke with a fire ignited in his heart.

“I've been looking for a plan for decades, and you've found one that's even theoretically possible,” my grandfather told me, crying with joy. After he convinced my parents about my idea, I invited the fishing family, who quickly became convinced of our plan thanks to illegal radio channels. Now both my family and the fishing family were determined to escape.

The following night we divided the tasks: the fishing family updated their knowledge of sea routes and international maritime law, I took care of food and safety equipment, and Grandpa took over the emergency plan and camouflage. My parents timed our escape based on weather and lighting conditions to maximize our chances of remaining unnoticed.

We continued our daily chores so as not to arouse suspicion as we prepared for our escape. The night before departure I was too excited to sleep, filled with hope for a new life.